Homeless are connected with services at annual Fall River event

FALL RIVER — It could almost have been one of those happy days when colleges set up tables so Bristol Community College students can consider the move to a four-year school.

Or a career day.

It was not.

Friday’s Project Homeless Connect event in the BCC cafeteria had tables and representatives, but those looking for guidance were the homeless and those nearly so, those looking to find a needed service.

“This is our eighth annual,” said Mary Camara, coordinator for homeless programs at Fall River’s Community Development Agency.

“It’s one stop shopping for people who are experiencing housing instability,” she said.

As to who is homeless and who is not, Camara said all were welcome.

“We don’t card at the door,” she said.

Still, one of the things you could get here was a state-issued identification card.

“United Way is paying for that,” Camara said.

Of course, the card has to be gotten at the state Registry of Motor Vehicles, quite a distance from BCC, but there was transport available.

“The Registry has one window just for us today,” Camara said.

There was also a van going to parks and known homeless camps, looking for people who might want to attend.

At the CDA table, agency head Michael Dion was taking in surveys and handing out a free one trip bus pass and a free haircut from Rob Roy Academy to anyone who needed either.

“They do it every year,” Dion said of Rob Roy. “There’s always more than we give out.

Not that many people want to talk about homelessness or even the threat of homelessness, but, one of those at the event, a man in his 40s, a Fall River native, was willing to talk as long as his name wasn’t used.

“I had a problem with my landlord.” he said, explaining how he lost his last apartment.

Is he homeless?

“Not yet,” he said.

He’s stayed with a friend for the last three months, but there have been arguments over paying for food.

The man, an Army veteran, at least started the process of finding housing today, talking to veteran’s agencies in particular.